All language subtitles for Law and Order S02E03 Aria.DVDRip.NonHI.en.UNVSL

Narrator: In the criminal justice
system, the people are represented

by two separate yet
equally important groups...

The police who
investigate crime,

and the district attorneys
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

So, I testify on a
couple of RDOs.

What's the difference to
him? It's not out of their pocket.

Everybody gets one,
Jack. You'll get yours.

Hey, I need 'em. She's
dropping cash like it's on fire.

Every card is jacked full.

"A horse is a horse,
of course, of course."

"My kingdom for a horse!"

Look at this...
the next De Niro.

En garde.

Woman: Hey!

Hey, you guys want to give that
stuff back to Costume, please?

Youth: Jason, give
me a hand here.

Hey, Graham.

I think this is it.

Sorry, I didn't know you
were waiting for them.

Priscilla, you decent?

"No need praying, Prissy."

Reviews can't hurt us now.

Hey, what if David
Merrick's trying to call?

Oh God.

- Cop #1:
Where are the damn paramedics?
- I radioed... they're coming.

Hold on, honey.

I didn't... want to do it.

I didn't want to...

All right, let them through.

All right, we got her.

Nurse on PA: Dr. Kipper,
report to the solarium.

Dr. Kipper to the
solarium, please.

- This your run?
- We got there first.

19. Her name was
Priscilla Blaine.

You got a cause of death?

Narcon's response
was positive. She OD'd.

- Who found her?
- Classmates at the Academy
of Dramatic Arts.

Closing night party.

"No business like
show business."

Am I hearing this
wrong or something?

If she OD'd, what
do you need us for?

When she died...
over and over...

"I didn't want to do it,
I didn't want to do it."

She didn't want to do what?

Hey, you're wearing the suits.

Nurse on P.A.: Security,
please report to the cafeteria.

Security, please
report to the cafeteria.

Amitriptyline.

Amitriptyline?
Never heard of it.

Psychiatrist "scrip"...
Anti-depressant.

How much did she take of them?

About 200 milligrams.
Probably do a small elephant.

Was there any physical trauma?
Any bruises? Anything suspicious?

She did have an Ace
bandage on her right ankle.

Nothing wrong with it.

No visible bruising or
contusion about the ligament.

- Is it an old injury?
- No blood in the joint space.

Fashion statement?

Priscilla wasn't on drugs.

I would have known
if she was on drugs.

Mrs. Blaine, would
you happen to know

if Priscilla was
seeing a psychiatrist?

See, the reason I'm asking is,

the drug in her system
was an anti-depressant.

She wasn't depressed.

You mind if we take this?

We were going to have new
headshots taken next week.

Patti, did your sister
happen to mention

anything about seeing
new people lately?

I wouldn't really know.

I remember the first day
she got into the Academy.

They took 50 out of 1,500.

Ever since she could talk,
she wanted to be a performer.

She didn't do drugs.
She was too focused.

They just would
have slowed her down.

You think she was happy?

Yeah, she was.

I guess.

Woman: Anything for anyone.

It's just not her.

What do you mean? The drugs?

Mm-hmm. She
didn't believe in them.

I thought she'd
be hit by lightning

before she would die like that.

The officer who was here last
night said she kept on repeating,

"I didn't want to do it,
I didn't want to do it."

- Do you know
what that was about?
- No.

Is it possible that somebody could've
pressed her into taking the pills?

No one's really into
that around here.

Yeah, there was a lot of drinking
because it was closing night.

I don't know.

Did she have a boyfriend?

We broke up a few months
ago. It was getting weird.

Yeah?

Was she depressed by the break?

Not quite... she dumped me.

Roger, when you and
Pricilla were together,

did she like to party
a lot? You know...

No, Pricilla didn't do drugs.

The only pills she
took were birth control.

God only knows why.

You mean the intimacy
level was a little...?

It was great at first,
but then, I don't know,

five, six months
ago she weirded out.

Holding hands became a big deal.

Did you ever talk about it?

She said she was
seeing someone about it.

Shrink? She started seeing
one before we broke up.

- A lot of good it did.
- Do you know who he was?

Uh... Seliger, up at P & S.

Unfortunately, it falls under
the category of privilege.

Whose? I mean, the girl's dead.

Privilege does survive
the death of a patient.

Does that include
prescription history, Doctor?

Priscilla asked me for
something a few weeks ago.

I told her I didn't think
that it was necessary.

Yeah, because her friends are telling
us she didn't even like painkillers.

I'd say that was an
accurate assessment.

Really...

I wish I could help.

Doctor, we understand
that. Now, bottom line,

we just want to know who
can waive that privilege.

If the court appoints a
personal representative,

they'd have the authority to
sign a waiver on Priscilla's behalf.

Ah.

It would probably
be... her mother.

Mrs. Blaine: I just
don't understand.

If Priscilla had problems,

she knew she could come to me.

Mrs. Blaine, as parents
we all want to feel that way.

But I've got five, and
I've learned my lesson.

They all have things
they don't want to tell us.

I used to brush
her hair every night.

She'd tell me about her day.

All the little details.

A hundred strokes.

She had hair like Rita Hayworth.

Did she cut it recently?

Sometimes children don't
appreciate what they have.

Mrs. Blaine...

Dr. Seliger may
be the only person

who can tell us if Priscilla's
death was accidental or not.

But he can't tell us anything

unless the administrator
of Priscilla's estate

waives the patient/doctor
confidentiality.

Maybe it's not anybody's
business what they talked about.

She didn't want me to
know when she was alive,

I don't see any reason
to change that now.

My mother got pregnant
with me when she was 17.

I kind of put the
brakes on her career.

She was an actress?

She was a pretty
woman with a fair voice,

whose main claim to
fame was "Eliza Doolittle"

at the Bloomfield
Community Playhouse.

We haven't spoken in two years.

Until this.

Why the rift?

Well, 12 years of dance
class three times a week

and acting class twice
a week is a bit wearing.

My mother couldn't decide if I
was Martha Graham or Helen Hayes.

And which were you?

I was Patti Blaine,

so I got out before I wasn't.

And Priscilla?

Since she was three.

Lessons, agents...

Kind of like a last hope.

She never even
knew she had a choice.

Your mother's a sales
clerk, isn't that right?

- Mm-hmm.
- This Academy must be
pretty expensive.

Well, Priscilla
helped with the tuition.

Oh?

Our father died when we were
young and he left us some money.

Ah. You and your
sister stay pretty close?

We talked a couple
times a month.

Just, "Hi, how are
you?" Nothing big.

When was the last time?

About a week ago.

It never sounded like
anything was wrong.

I'm not much of a big sister.

Who did she talk to?

Probably Jasmine.
They grew up together.

Maybe none of
us really knew her.

Some of the stuff she
pulled was pretty confusing.

Like what?

Like she faked hurting her
ankle to get out of some big show.

Why? Didn't she want
to dance anymore?

I don't know. I mean...

she always thought everyone
was better than she was.

- Logan: Were they?
- Priscilla was good.

She had to work at
everything she got.

And her sister was the natural.

She did everything better
than Priscilla with half the effort.

She just shined it on.

She didn't want it.

Maybe in a weird way, she
had more guts than Priscilla.

Did Priscilla give you any
indication that she was unhappy?

I don't think Priscilla knew
whether or not she was unhappy.

She was probably happiest
when she was pleasing her mother.

- And lately?
- Lately she just
wasn't herself.

Pressured, absent-minded...

she even left her backpack
here a couple of times,

and that's certainly
not like her.

This one?

Logan: She spends her whole
life trying to replace her sister.

She couldn't take the pressure,
downs a handful, checks out.

Okay, then why is she found
kneeling by an unhooked phone

moaning, "I didn't want
to do it" over and over?

She changed her mind or she's
talking about that show biz stuff.

But not about the drugs?
You have the same notes I do.

She'd do anything to
please other people.

Are you saying she got talked into
partying? She's much too anti-drugs.

- She would have drawn a line.
- Maybe, maybe not.

How anxious was she to please?

A kid when I was growing up, in
Little League, his old man every game

was behind the backstop,
yelling, screaming orders at him.

- So?
- Game before the playoff,

the kid hits a dink to
shortstop, pulls a "Ron Hunt"...

Dives head first right into first
base... Dislocated his shoulder.

And you're saying a 10-year-old
intentionally hurt himself?

I'm saying it's subconscious. The
point is, he couldn't take the pressure.

When I was a kid, my mother
hounded me to practice the piano.

To this day, I
wish I had learned.

Are you gonna make your
kids do things they don't want to?

From the moment
they're on the planet.

"Brush your teeth, do your
homework, you're grounded..."

- Come on, Phil, that's different.
- It's just a matter of degree.

- What the hell is that?
- Unlabeled.

Yeah.

Right here.

Logan: That's her.

Your girl had a shadow life.

Good bet on where the
drugs came from, huh?

Cragen: Who knows about it?

Logan: Jasmine? The
boyfriend? Maybe none of them.

See what you can find
out about this company...

"Candlelight Productions."

No one knows anybody anymore.

We may know one thing...

What "I didn't want
to do it" means.

Candlelight Productions went
out of business six weeks ago.

What?

She's been meeting someone
named "JZ" two or three times a week.

It could be a
nickname for "Jasmine."

I don't think so. It only
shows up six months ago.

Before that, nothing.

I never heard of
anyone named "JZ"

Logan: She never
mentioned anything?

Six months, two,
three times a week

and you didn't know anything?

Jasmine, Priscilla is dead.

Any secrets she had are
no longer worth keeping.

He owns a club in Chelsea...

"Flashdancers."

The strip joint? It's
not a "dirt palace."

Just businessmen,
yuppies out for a good time,

that kind of thing.

Look, I was the
only one who knew.

Knew what? That
she worked there?

It was good money.
Really good money.

She was trying to earn
enough to move out.

Whatever she did, I
don't want to know about it.

- Trucker: Thanks, bud.
- Cerreta: She give you
a lot of trouble?

They all do. Some
weeks it's like babysitting.

Come on, girls!
Come on, come on.

This one, though, she
could really shake it.

When did she stop working?

I haven't seen her in
about three or four months.

She was getting some
film interest. I don't know.

The good ones, they're tough to hang
on to. Suddenly, they don't show up.

Yeah, and when they
do, they're lit, right?

I mean, you gotta figure, there
are a lot of drugs in and out of here.

Like I said, whatever
the girls do...

What kind of film interest was Priscilla
getting? Do you know the people?

Well, we're not
talking Cecil B. DeMille.

They're around all the time.
I don't associate with them.

It's not my trade.

JZ, help us out here.

You must know somebody we can
talk to who might know these people.

Yeah, there's a guy...

His name is Ed
Zakaris. He's a pig.

Candlelight Productions?
Never heard of them.

Maybe it went by
a different name.

Hey, if I didn't hear of them...

Look, we saw
the tape, all right?

Yeah? Wouldn't be surprised.

How did it get past you, Ed?

These businesses
are fly-by-night.

They grab some jerk,
he invests in their flick,

they make it, they close,

they open up next
week, new name.

"Candlelight,"
"Flashlight," whatever.

What about this
director, Franklin Frome?

He used to be one
of the great ones.

Yeah, he won the "Best Actor
award in a group scene"... 1975.

That's terrific. "Mr.
Olivier's" address.

Did she work in
one of your films?

Yeah, sure, the
one with the mother.

You know her mother?

Elizabeth.

Are you saying Mrs. Blaine
knew Priscilla was working for you?

She set it up.

Wait a minute. I thought you
found Priscilla at "Flashdancers."

Yeah, I gave her my card. Next
thing, her mom gives me a call.

Did she know what
kind of films you make?

Dropped her off every day.
Occasionally watched a shoot.

Must have had a cooling
effect on the set, huh?

No, she kept her distance.

Didn't even want her kid
talking to the other actresses.

What about when
Mom wasn't around?

It's just so hard to believe.

I mean, I was the one
that was supposed to die.

I tested positive last month.

It's the cost of business. I
made a thousand bucks a day.

Did Priscilla make
that kind of cash?

No.

No, she was just foreplay.
She never went all the way.

Her mom wouldn't let her.

Girl's in a prestigious school
like that, why did she do porno?

It wasn't her, it was her
mom. Can you believe that?

I mean, just pushing
and pushing, you know?

Priscilla was shy.

It was hard for her.

I mean, a few times she
got so nervous, she cried.

Some of the actresses when
they got nervous like that,

would they drop something?

Well, I did when I was working.

It made me forget
what I was doing.

- What was it? Amitrip...
- Amitriptyline.

"Trips." I couldn't
go on without it.

Did Priscilla use this?

- I told her it would help her relax.
- You gave her the drugs?

Well, I said never to
take more than one.

She took eight.

Well, she must have
been freaked... I mean...

it was this new flick she
was going to be starring in.

"Starring," huh? You
mean no more "foreplay"?

Her mother knew what
she was gonna have to do?

She had been on set, so
she knew people didn't pay

to see the stars hold hands.

Angel admitted to
giving Priscilla the drugs?

- You want to hit her
with a drug charge?
- Let's cut her a deal.

She'll testify that
"Mommy Dearest"

forced her daughter
into pornography.

Wait a minute, do I follow here? You
want to charge the mother with murder?

- It was a suicide.
- That was brought on
by the pressure

of doing porno, which
the mother forced her into.

"I didn't want to do it,"
over and over again.

Come on, Mike. "I didn't want
to do it" can mean a lot of things.

The most probable being she
was freaked out by the porno.

It was her dying utterance.

It's admissible, but
only for what it's worth.

So, what do you think?

We could take a run at "depraved
indifference to human life"...

Suicide was the
inevitable consequence.

You don't believe
she's guilty, do you?

Of being a rotten mother? Yes.
Yes, I do. But there has to be a line.

A kid goes out and robs a
bank, you put the parents in jail?

Maybe, if there was
cause and effect.

She was 19, she could have left
home. She did not have to kill herself.

Maybe she did.

Mrs. Blaine, you are under arrest
for the murder of Priscilla Blaine.

What?

The charges are murder
in the second degree,

manslaughter in the
first and second degree,

and criminally
negligent homicide.

How does the defendant plea?

Not guilty.

Your Honor, The People
are asking $500,000.

Judge, my client is
mourning the loss of her child.

Judge: Violins, Mr. Pollard.

Bail is set at $250,000.

Bailiff: Next case, docket number
66273. The People versus Johnson.

Solicitation for
purposes of prostitution...

Adam: Even if you could prove

that the mother forced the girl to
make the films against her will...

you'll still have a
hell of a time proving

that that was the proximate
cause of the girl's death.

Stone: Case in Indiana...

A girl is kidnapped,
sodomized, sexually abused.

A year later, she
took poison and died.

The court ruled that the
conduct of her assailant

was the proximate
cause of her death.

Yeah, this isn't Indiana.

In New York, suicide is an
independent intervening act.

Therefore, the mother's actions,
no matter how despicable,

are not the cause-in-fact
of the girl's death.

Unless we can prove
that Ms. Blaine knew

the films were making
Priscilla suicidal.

Mr. Robinette, I'm sure you
know that I can't possibly...

I know the difference between
real patients and hypothetical ones.

All right.

One could argue

that such a hypothetical
patient might be an exhibitionist

and there was nothing anyone
could have done to prevent her death.

But if she were
forced by someone...

A loved one, husband, parent...

Being forced into the sordid
life by someone she loved

could be so deleterious
to her mental health

that it had to be a substantial and
contributory cause of her suicide.

And you've dealt with
patients or a patient

who's had pressures
similar to this?

Yes, I have.

He's got a lot to say...
Only he can't say it.

Privilege can be waived.

By the administrator
of the decedent's estate.

Mrs. Blaine already
applied for letters.

Priscilla had money
her father left her.

The bank won't release it without tax
waivers signed by the administrator.

Return date's next week.

Mrs. Blaine is charged
with killing her daughter.

I'd say her interests are
adverse to that of the estate.

There's a sister, isn't there?

You know any good
probate lawyers?

Do you mean I would
have to go to court?

No. Not in the way you
think. You see, surrogate court

merely appoints the administrator
of an estate when there's no will.

And that would
give you the authority

to waive the doctor
and patient privilege.

Robinette: If Dr. Seliger
takes the stand,

it'll be the closest thing to
Priscilla being there herself.

Stone: This is not easy
what we're asking, I know.

You want me to testify
against my mother.

It's not a criminal
proceeding. It's a civil hearing.

One thing I learned growing up,

and that's... you
don't cross my mother.

Priscilla knew that, too.

I can't help but wonder,
if I hadn't have left,

you know, if I
didn't quit, then...

Patti, your leaving is not
the cause of Priscilla's death.

I believe you know what
caused your sister's death.

I'm just asking for the
legal right to get to the truth.

Petition of letters
of administration

in the estate of Priscilla
Blaine filed by Elizabeth Blaine.

Objections have been
filed by Patricia Blaine.

The objection has
been filed, Your Honor,

on the grounds that the
applicant's appointment

would not be in the
best interest of the estate.

Your Honor, the D.A.
is using the proceedings

- to mount a witch hunt
against my client.
- Please, Mr. Pollard.

I am here to represent Ms. Blaine,
Your Honor, not the District Attorney.

Are the parties
prepared for a hearing?

- Ready, Your Honor.
- Pollard: Ready.

Mr. Robinette, does the
District Attorney's Office

have charges pending against
the petitioner, Elizabeth Blaine?

Yes, we do.

And could you tell me,
what are those charges?

She's been indicted for the murder
of her daughter, Priscilla Blaine.

An indictment is not a
conviction, Your Honor,

and certainly no evidence
of my client's guilt.

The grand jury is nothing more
than the District Attorney's puppet...

Enough, Mr. Pollard.

The court takes judicial
notice of the indictment.

Patti: When we were little,
she had us both taking lessons,

trying to get an agent.

- Melnick: How old were you?
- Patti: Five.

- And Priscilla?
- She was three.

And was this something
you both enjoyed?

I didn't.

Melnick: And your
sister, Priscilla?

It was harder for her.

I left, and after that Priscilla
was expected to fill that void.

I see. And what did
these expectations entail?

Well, when she was five

she had dance class three
times a week after school

and on Saturdays
from 1:00 to 5:00.

Melnick: Patti, did
Priscilla ever express to you

that she was unhappy with the
way your mother had planned her life?

Once she lost an audition
for "The Nutcracker Suite."

My mother was very upset.

It was always like that.

And that night when we got home,

Priscilla asked me, did I think
Mom didn't love her anymore?

Objection. Hearsay.

Sustained.

Patti, tell the court
why you would like

to be appointed administrator
of your sister's estate.

Because, in my opinion,
my mother is unfit.

Melnick: Do you believe that your mother
was responsible for Priscilla's death?

Yes, I do.

Thank you. No further questions.

Aside from when Priscilla
was a five-year-old,

did she ever tell you that
your mother treated her badly?

No.

Did Priscilla ever tell you
your mother forced her

to make pornographic films?

We didn't discuss...

Did she ever tell you
your mother made her

do anything she
didn't want to do?

- No, not in those words.
- In fact... when you told her

that you thought your mother
was pushing her too hard,

she got angry at
you, isn't that true?

- Yes, but she...
- Patti...

who will receive Priscilla's
money if your mother is convicted?

- I will.
- I see.

And how long has it been
since you've seen your sister?

Well, we talked
every couple of weeks.

When was the last
time you saw her?

It's been about two years.

So you were very devoted.

You came to her funeral,

and you came to
collect an inheritance.

Objection, Your Honor!

Mrs. Blaine: She
wanted to be an actress.

I did too when I was her age,

only I didn't have
someone to encourage me.

I wanted it to be
different for her.

But why these films?

She wanted to act
for the cameras.

They weren't giving
her that in school.

There's a difference
between acting, though,

and acting in a
pornographic film.

All she did was
take off her clothes.

Did Priscilla ever
do anything more

than undress in
front of the camera?

No. It never went
further than that.

- I made sure of that.
- Thank you, Mrs. Blaine.

Mrs. Blaine, Priscilla
was going to star

in an upcoming film with
the same director, wasn't she?

- Yes.
- And as the star
in that film,

she would have to do more

than just take off her
clothes, isn't that true?

They told Marilyn
Monroe that nude calendar

would ruin her career.

It made her a star.

Ahem... would you tell
us, please, Mrs. Blaine,

was Priscilla nervous about
starring in a pornographic film?

All actresses are
nervous before a big part.

Yes, but when your
daughter came to you

and told you she was nervous,
what did you say to her?

I told her she should
talk to her friend, Angel...

She had made a lot of films.

Mrs. Blaine, did it
never occur to you

that starring in a
pornographic film

might not be in your
daughter's best interest?

Priscilla was an adult. She
made her own decisions.

I did nothing wrong!

No, you merely encouraged
her to prostitute her...

I encouraged her to do
exactly what she wanted to do!

Be seated.

The particulars of this
case are repugnant to me.

Frankly, I don't think
either of the applicants

are fit administrators of
Priscilla Blaine's estate.

It's also clear the
prosecutor's office

is using this proceeding
to reach its own goals.

However, I cannot
in good conscience

ignore the criminal charges
against the applicant.

I'm going to sign an
order issuing letters

to the objectant,
Patricia Blaine.

This hearing is adjourned.

What are some of the
effects of amitriptyline?

Man: Alleviates nervous
tension, symptoms of depression.

And in larger dosages?

Reduced inhibitions, may
evoke a state of euphoria.

What is the usual
prescribed dosage?

25 milligrams, three times a day

to a maximum of 150
milligrams as necessary.

- There are 25 milligrams
to each tablet?
- Yes.

How much of this drug did Ms.
Blaine take the night she died?

- Over 200 milligrams.
- So, that's at least
eight tablets?

Man: Yes.

Was there any physical
evidence to indicate

whether or not Ms. Blaine
was an habitual user of drugs?

The corrosive appearance
of the stomach lining

and the presence of
partially digested tablets

suggest her system didn't
easily absorb the drug.

If I'm a vegetarian all my life,

and one night I eat a steak,

my body has a hard
time digesting it, right?

Something like that.

So, it's more probable than not
that Ms. Blaine was not an abuser?

Man: That's correct.

Stone: And if she had
wanted an extra kick,

- 50 milligrams
would have sufficed?
- That's correct.

So, in your expert
opinion, Doctor,

why would Ms. Blaine
have taken eight tablets?

To die.

I told her never to
take more than one.

Had Priscilla ever asked
you for drugs before?

No. And I had
never offered them.

Did she say why she
wanted the amitriptyline?

She was nervous
about the new film.

- The one she was
going to star in?
- Yes.

Why was she nervous?

She didn't think she
could go through with it.

Stone: Go through
with what, Ms. Greer?

Having sex in front of a camera.

So, she needed the
drugs to help her do that?

Yes.

Thank you. No further questions.

You and Priscilla
were good friends?

- We were friendly.
- Just friendly?

Well, her mom didn't
want us getting too close.

In fact, didn't Mrs.
Blaine discourage Priscilla

from spending any
time with you at all?

- Yes.
- Why was that, Angel?

She knew that I took drugs.

And she didn't want
Priscilla associating

with people who took
drugs, isn't that right?

Yes.

When did Priscilla Blaine
start working for you?

I believe it was late February.

And how many of these
films did she appear in?

Four... no, five.

Was she featured
in any of these? No.

Yet she was going
to, and I quote,

"star in your next
film." Is that correct?

Yeah.

Did Mrs. Blaine know about that?

Did she know? She wanted
script approval, the whole bit.

In your new film,
was Priscilla Blaine

expected to perform
sex acts on screen?

Tastefully, yes.

Did Mrs. Blaine
know that her daughter

was expected to
perform sex on screen?

She'd been watching us
shoot for months. She knew.

And when did your
film go into production?

We were supposed to
start shooting June 3rd.

The morning after
Priscilla Blaine died?

Yes.

Thank you. No further questions.

Ahem... Mr. Frome,

did you approach Priscilla
about starring in this new film?

No, she came to me.

Priscilla came to you and
asked if she could star in the film?

Something like that.
Was her mother with her?

Frome: No, she was alone.

Do you have any
reason to believe

that Mrs. Blaine forced her
daughter to ask you for the part?

- No.
- Objection. Beyond the scope
of the witness' knowledge.

Mr. Stone, I did permit
you great latitude.

I'll allow it.

She was legally an adult.

If she didn't want
to do pornography,

why didn't she just walk away?

Her mother had total
control over her life.

Priscilla was powerless
in that relationship.

She dated a boy her
mother didn't want her to.

She lied to get out
of a performance

and she even began seeing you
without her mother's permission.

She lied because she
was afraid to confront her.

But she was an actress.
Did she really have

that kind of difficulty
expressing herself?

She was so used to
subverting her emotions,

there were days
she came to my office

and couldn't say a word.

She found... other ways.

What other ways?

She had long, lovely hair.

She knew her
mother prized her hair.

A month ago, she cut it all off.

Not styled... shorn.

Doctor, this is a transcript

from the time you discussed
that incident with Priscilla.

Would you please read the
highlighted portions out loud?

"Priscilla: 'I started,
and I just kept going.'

Doctor: 'Why did you do it?'

Priscilla: 'Maybe...
I don't know,

Mom said my hair was
what sold me or something.

I thought without
the hair, whatever...

Maybe she'd get it.'"

Doctor, would you characterize
that incident as self-destructive?

Cutting hair, cutting skin...

It's how some kids
get their point across.

And did you
believe it would lead

- to more serious forms
of self-destructive behavior?
- It usually does.

Dr. Seliger, did
Priscilla Blaine

ever talk to you about
committing suicide?

Indirectly. How so?

She made a tape of a monologue

from a play she did in class.

What did she plan
to do with that tape?

She gave it to her mother. Said
she "hoped she'd understand."

When did she give
the tape to her mother?

A week before she died.

Your Honor, at this time I'd
like to play the tape for the Court.

The Defense
renews its objection.

Mr. Stone is insisting the death
was a suicide, and is now attempting

to introduce non-relevant
facts into that theory.

Objection's noted, Mr. Pollard.

I'll allow the tape
for what it's worth.

Mama, you awake?

I couldn't sleep.

I haven't slept in days.

Last night in the dark I
looked at myself in the mirror...

and all I could see were
the whites of my eyes.

And I knew how
scared I really was.

Are you dreaming, Mama?

Remember Abilene, Mama?

How the towns clicked by...

and I begged you
to stop the train?

Lexington,
Nashville, Little Rock.

I was sick for a thousand miles.

And I hated you for it.

Well, Mama, you sleep.

Me...

I'm getting off this train.

I'm tired now, Mama.

When you wake up...

don't be angry that I'm gone.

It's my turn to sleep.

Adam: So they might believe
the girl committed suicide,

but the defense will appeal.

Admission of the tape
was reversible error.

Judge Hale didn't think the
tape was overly prejudicial.

Even if the girl
did kill herself,

it's tough to prove that
the mother's behavior

was the proximate
cause of her death.

And we're almost there. The
tape went a long way to prove that.

Mrs. Blaine knew that
acting in those films

was making her
daughter suicidal.

Yeah, but if she
doesn't take the stand,

you got no way of proving
what she knew or didn't know.

And Pollard's no
fool. He's been around.

No way he's gonna
put her on the stand.

No way you're going
to make your case.

What if it wasn't
suicide after all?

At the probate
hearing, Mrs. Blaine said

that when Priscilla was
nervous about starring in a film,

she told her to talk
to Angel about it.

At trial, Angel said Mrs. Blaine
didn't want Priscilla around her.

Maybe she knew
Angel was getting drugs

to get through the performance.

So Mrs. Blaine sent
Priscilla to Angel

to get the drugs to help
her have sex on camera.

So we change our theory?

Priscilla didn't commit
suicide, she OD'd?

Mrs. Blaine not only forced her
daughter to have sex on camera,

but she gave her the drugs

to help her do that.

Ergo, she is guilty of
her daughter's death.

And with her prior testimony,

we don't even need
Mrs. Blaine on the stand.

Now, Ben, what do you think?

Do you believe this
girl committed suicide?

I do believe that Mrs. Blaine
is guilty of her daughter's death.

I'll do anything
to make it stick.

It's prejudicial.

It's inflammatory...

I am not deciding on
decibel level, Lucas.

There is nothing in that transcript
that would prejudice a jury.

What about her right
against self-incrimination?

Mrs. Blaine testified under oath.
She was represented by counsel.

Her rights were fully protected.

"Question: 'What did
you say to your daughter

when she told you
she was nervous?'

Answer, Mrs. Blaine: 'I told
her to talk to her friend Angel.

She made a lot of films. "" Now,
what's the problem with that?

He's manufacturing
proximate cause.

A jury could infer
that the defendant

sent her daughter to Angel
specifically to get drugs.

- Still, if the girl
committed suicide...
- Pollard: Exactly.

What if she didn't? What
if she accidentally OD'd?

Your point being...?

We're in agreement
on one major point...

Nobody will ever know what Priscilla's
intentions were. But we do know

that her mother intended to get that
film made no matter what the cost.

That's a sandbag. He's
changing theories in mid-case

because he hasn't got
anything to stand on.

Oh, I think not. I think if
you ask a jury, they'll tell you

her taped plea to her mother...

The most passionate
performance of that girl's life.

I see no reason to
overrule the motion.

I'll allow Mrs. Blaine's testimony
to be read into evidence.

I'll need 10 minutes
with my client.

So now you're telling
me it was an accident...

and it's still my fault?

Mrs. Blaine, I'm
not a psychiatrist...

I don't know what part of
your psyche made you push

your own flesh and blood into
pornography... but yes, I do think

Priscilla's death was your
fault, both legally and morally.

But I loved her.

She was my life.

No, she was your daughter.
She had a life of her own.

Criminally negligent homicide...

with a sentencing
recommendation?

An "E" felony?

She's not dangerous, Ben.

Man two?

She does the max.

It was kind of like a
fairy tale, wasn't it?

Which one?

"Mirror, mirror on the wall..."

She looked at her
daughter and saw herself.

Somehow, I don't think she'll ever
understand what she did wrong.

No, I suppose you're
right, but it's scary.

What's that?

That an emotion like love
can do so much damage.